Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag has called on television commentators and cricket experts to avoid making personal attacks on players, saying criticism should remain focused on cricket rather than off-field matters.
Speaking after Rajasthan Royals’ seven-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants in Jaipur on Tuesday, Parag expressed frustration over the scrutiny players face, particularly when discussions drift away from performances and into personal territory. The 24-year-old, who missed the match due to a hamstring issue and remained an unused impact substitute, said the public often fails to understand the effort that goes into every game.
“As far as the IPL is concerned, there are a lot of things happening outside this year,” Parag said. “We, as players, try to give our best whenever we can. It is easy to say after a poor performance that players do not know how to play or lack the mindset, but people do not see the three to four days of preparation behind every match.”
This comes after the RR captain was fine and reprimanded by the IPL governing council for using an e-cigarette during an IPL game in the team dressing room.
IPL 2026, RR vs LSG: Highlights | Scorecard
Parag said commentators, whose voices influence public perception, should be more responsible in how they discuss players.
“We are humans too and we make mistakes too,” he said. “Cricket is the country’s biggest sport and it should be treated with respect. We should only talk about cricket, not anything else.”
The Rajasthan Royals skipper also said he has learnt to ignore criticism over time.
“For the last four years, I have understood that no matter what I do, there will always be talks,” he said. “But I have also realised that it should not affect my game, my form, or my mindset because keyboard warriors are outsiders.”
Best knock by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
Despite his criticism of the external noise, Parag was full of praise for teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, whose explosive 38-ball 93 powered Rajasthan Royals to a remarkable chase of 221 and kept their playoff hopes alive.
Parag described the innings as the 15-year-old’s most impressive effort yet, particularly because of the composure he showed after a measured start. Rather than panicking after scoring just five runs off his first 10 deliveries, Sooryavanshi trusted his method before launching a brutal counterattack that dismantled the Lucknow bowling unit.
Lucknow Super Giants head coach Justin Langer also marvelled at the teenager’s fearless strokeplay, describing his batting as “breathtaking” after another extraordinary display in the tournament.
Langer said that in his 35 years in cricket, few sights had been as remarkable as watching a player so young dominate world-class fast bowlers with such confidence. He pointed to the visible disbelief on the faces of elite pacers such as Mitchell Starc and Anrich Nortje in recent matches as evidence of just how special Sooryavanshi’s emergence has been, with the youngster rapidly establishing himself as one of the breakout stars of IPL 2026.
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